Johan Lindeberg Is Having the Time of His Life

When I ask fashion designer Johan Lindeberg how he's doing during a telephone conversation about his role as creative director for the Absolut's new luxury vodka, Absolut Elyx, he responds in no uncertain terms: "I think I've been having the best time of my life, actually, if I can be quite honest." And after chatting with him for a while, it becomes abundantly clear that he really means it. Far cry from March of 2010, when the designer separated from his wife of 15 years. "It was a devastating moment," says Lindeberg. "But I could either spin downwards or upwards, so I used the energy from that separation to create something new."

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Enter BLK DNM, his current clothing brand and the successor to J. Lindeberg, the company he started in his native Sweden in 1996 but left in 2007 (Lindeberg has also logged time at Diesel and William Rast in his 20-plus year career). "It was a great experience," he says of building his namesake brand, and leaving was difficult. But it was also "the best, best, best thing I've ever done." At the end of his time at J. Lindeberg, he didn't feel entirely in control of the creative product. Not so with BLK DNM. "I wanted a generic name as a contrast to J. Lindeberg, but to make it super, super personal — more personal than anything I've done before." And it is personal, with BLK DNM's men's-wear representing the designer's own ideal uniform: slim and minimal, with a distinctly downtown feel.

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As for the women's? It's "inspired by the women I'm inspired by — women who have that potential to really express themselves." Women like Chloë Sevigny, who stars in Absolut Elyx's first campaign dressed in, of course, BLK DNM. Lindeberg views the campaign as an opportunity "to portray strong women as inspiration to the world." Well, that, and to usher in "what I think is the start of a new era. It's more intellectual; there's more depth. Absolut Elyx can be a contrast to all these bling-bling vodkas and that kind of shallow lifestyle."

Lindeberg, by the way, also photographed Absolut Elyx's initial set of ads, a first for him. "I've never shot a campaign before," he explains, "so it's a brave move from Absolut to trust me." Of course, he does have experience behind the camera, diving headfirst into photography after he picked it up a couple years back. "The first time I held a camera ever was in August 2011, and I became immediately, massively passionate," he says. And prolific. Since then, Lindeberg — who counts photographers Inez and Vinoodh and Mario Sorrenti as both friends and inspiration — has taken thousands of photos for BLK DNM's blog and Instagram account, even working with Gisele Bundchen on a recent project.

Photography, says Lindeberg, allows him to best "communicate the [BLK DNM] brand, and create the brand." Which, as it happens, is exactly what he's doing for Absolut Elyx. And don't be surprised if you see some significant overlap. Lindeberg is steadfast in his belief that any work he does "has to be very close to my own aesthetic. I need to be able to embrace it and feel it. That's the only way I can do it." Such dogged devotion to his own vision above all others is rare in a world filled with consultants and agencies, but Lindeberg believes it makes a big difference. "It's about becoming pure," he says of BLK DNM. "It's very important that a brand look different than other brands. There are too many similar brands. And I think we are contrary — we're going our own way."

Going his own way is working out. There's Absolut Elyx, of course, which has been called by at least one source "the most significant vodka releases since Ketel One or Grey Goose." And then there's BLK DNM, which is, at just two years old, sold in an impressive 300 outlets across 35 countries, with flagship stores in New York and Stockholm. So, is Johan Lindeberg really having the best time of his life? Well, it sure seems like it.